Kawaii as an Understatement
by Jiemme
Summary: After seeing Risa's picture in a magazine from the photoshoot, Otani reveals the real reasons why he doesn't approve of Risa being cute.


**A/N: **_Another oneshot from me. Maybe it's getting kinda annoying to you guys or something. :)) I wrote this after getting inspired by the scene where Otani gets flustered after seeing Risa looking oh-so beautiful for the photoshoot. I asked, "What if Risa's picture was used in a magazine?" and bam! Got this idea. It was fun writing this. It has some Nobu-chan anger moments, which inspired me to write this faster. I hope you guys enjoy this! Read away! _

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Lovely Complex._

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><p><strong>Kawaii as an Understatement<strong>

...

_After seeing Risa's picture in a magazine, Otani doesn't reveal the real reasons why he doesn't approve of Risa being cute._

...

...

"I can't believe you're in a magazine, Risa!"

Nobuko Ishihara ran inside the classroom, clutching a magazine as her sandy-colored her bounced in synchronization with every step she took. She stopped in front of a taller girl with pinkish-red hair staring outside the classroom window. Realizing that the girl was daydreaming, she whacked her with the magazine countless times until her victim came into her senses.

"Eh? Nobu-chan? That really hurts!" she shouted. Nobuko rolled her eyes – despite being used to punch and smack other people, Risa Koizumi always complained when she was the one being hurt.

"You were daydreaming! I couldn't do anything else!" she retorted. "Anyway, why didn't you tell me that you're a model now?"

"NANI? Are you serious?" she girl yelped. Nobuko raised the magazine in front of Koizumi's face.

Koizumi's eyes widened as she stared at the open page of the magazine. The image of her with soft-colored lip gloss applied on her lips overwhelmed her. She was wearing a very feminine white dress that was slightly above her knees and white sandals to match. Her face was tinted with light make-up that didn't change her looks drastically, yet emboldened her features a little more. She was looking at the right side, her head slightly lowered. Her lips were curled in a soft and tender smile as her eyelashes defined and exposed her eyes that glimmered beautifully. Her hair was fixed to appear wavy. It was a very girly look for her indeed.

Her gaze met with Nobuko's, and they screamed happily together.

"Kawaii! You look so cute here!" Nobu gushed happily. "I told you that you have the beauty of a model!"

Koizumi's face lit up and reddened from being flattered. "Stop it! You're just pulling my leg!"

"I am not! You really look cute here! See? Why didn't you bring me to that photoshoot? I could've been in this magazine too! You really are unfair," Nobu said teasingly.

"I didn't expect them to take photos of me! One of the managers of the photoshoot just surprised me!" she replied worriedly.

"I heard you two screaming from outside… what happened?" a soft, shy voice asked. The two girls turned their heads and saw an adorable, dark-haired girl with blue eyes that contained shades of violet tint. They smiled and welcomed their other best friend, Chiharu Tanaka, to their conversation.

"Chiharu-chan! Look at this!" Nobu exclaimed, shoving the magazine in the girl's hands. It was no surprise that Chiharu would grin with joy just like Nobuko.

"Wow! You look so pretty here, Risa-chan!" Chiharu complimented, giggling softly afterwards.

"I know, right? You should really consider being a professional model in the future!" Nobu added.

Koizumi, meanwhile, shook her head. "I think I'd like to be a stylist better."

"Well, I can understand why. You have a great sense of fashion in your blood! But seriously, you can be a model too! I mean… look at this!" Nobu shoved the page of the magazine right at Risa's face and started pointing at the image.

"You look lovely here! Don't you understand that you have the potential?" she shouted. Nobuko's eyes were flaming with mixed emotions of annoyance and joy. Chiharu bashfully nodded in agreement.

"Risa-chan, you have an advantage, you know," she said. "Try being both a stylist and a model, that's good!"

"Yeah! What she said! At least she's using her brain for you to be able to use your talents!" Nobu shouted. Koizumi simply rolled her eyes.

"I'd love to… but if you ask Otani… I think I'm not a good model," she said. Nobuko kicked her in rage as Chiharu watched in horror.

"What do you care if your midget boyfriend says that? He must be blind if he says such things!" she yelled. Chiharu nodded in agreement and fear. The sandy-haired girl exhaled and tried to return her calmness.

"Well, I read some parts of the magazine, and whoever held that photo shoot is looking for you! They said you're the most gorgeous model ever!" Nobu told her.

"What? No way! Mimi-chan was there! She's way better-looking than I am!" she said, rejecting the statement. Before Nobuko could hold another raging fit, Chiharu decided to speak.

"No, it's true! Just read this!" she said. Koizumi looked at the page and gasped while scanning the text.

'…_the photos were very relevant to the theme this magazine was craving to publish, and we want to thank Mrs. Nakamura for setting up a lovely photoshoot. We especially liked the girl with red curly hair. She was the very definition of a model. Despite that, Mrs. Nakamura stated that the girl didn't give her name and wasn't a real model. "She was a friend of one of our most prominent models, Mimi, and her height just appealed to us. After fixing her up, she stole the show. We hope that we could find her again for another photoshoot," said Mrs. Nakamura. Indeed, we do need more models with a subtle look that would attract a lot of fashion freaks to enjoy the new styles of the season!'_

Risa's eyes widened once again. It was too good to be true. People were actually complimenting on her looks! It was just… so new. She was used to receiving them from Nobuko and Chiharu only. But a magazine?

"I must be dreaming," she said with a dazed expression. Nobuko and Chiharu giggled.

"Told you!" Nobuko exclaimed. Chiharu remained silent after that, scanning the magazine in solitude.

"If Otani sees this… he's going to flip," Nobuko added. "He's going to realize what a lucky guy he is!"

"I heard my name! What's up?"

The jovial baritone voice captured the attention of the girls. Atsushi Otani has entered the room along with two other boys, who were obviously taller than him.

Despite being taller than average girls, Risa had a shorter boyfriend. They would often tease each other, calling names like "amazon" or "midget" but nonetheless, they loved each other.

"Darling!" Nobuko exclaimed. She ran towards the brown-haired boy with a calm disposition and embraced him tightly. Nobuko, just like Risa, was very in love with her boyfriend. Nobuko and Heikichi Nakao were very open to each other and to everyone about their love for each other.

"Suzuki-kun," Chiharu said softly. It could've been mistaken for a whisper. The tall boy with light ash blonde hair walked towards Chiharu. "Good morning, Tanaka-san."

"Good morning, Suzuki-kun," she replied to Ryoji Suzuki.

"Hey! Did you guys see Risa's picture in the magazine?" Nobuko asked. Otani's eyes widened.

"WHAT PICTURE?" he screeched. Koizumi grabbed the magazine from Chiharu in fear of Otani having an undefined reaction and obvious outburst. Nakao and Suzuki grabbed the magazine and smiled.

"Wow. You look cute here, Koizumi-san," Suzuki said.

"WHAT'S THAT?" Otani screeched, trying to grab the magazine as Suzuki and Nakao raised it from Otani's reach.

"Yeah! You should definitely be a model," Nakao added.

"GIVE ME THAT MAGAZINE!" Otani yelled. He was able to grab hold of it after a high jump, with thanks to his basketball skills.

"Daijyoubu! Even if you had to make me jump for it!I don't see what the fuss is anyway," he said.

"That's because you're looking at the cover, idiot," Nobuko snapped.

"No! Nobu-chan!" Koizumi shouted.

"I think your boyfriend has the right to see how lucky he is," Nobu replied.

Otani started flipping the pages, rolling his eyes. Were they ridiculing him? In his opinion, there was no way his girlfriend could be in a magazine, until –

His jaw dropped. He felt his cheeks burn. The image of Koizumi in the white dress, bearing a simple and sweet expression on her face made his heart race. He remembered the exact day the photoshoot was held. It was right after his exam, where he allowed Risa to choose their destination for the day. She ended up being given a make-over for one photoshoot. And even if he didn't admit it much, he thought she looked amazing.

"What's this? For the first time, you managed to look better!" Otani shouted, trying to hide his amorous thoughts. He thought it would be plain embarrassing for him to say things like, "I think you look gorgeous here."

"What?" Risa shouted. She was taken aback. She didn't understand why he had to be so harsh at something that she thought was special to her. She managed to have her picture on a magazine, for crying out loud! Instead of giving a positive reaction, he even managed to make her angry about it.

"It's the make-up, probably," Otani added.

"Shut up, midget! I can't believe you would say that after saying I looked cute!" she barked.

"When did I say that?" he asked snippily.

"Right after the photoshoot! Remember? Oh wait, no, you're an idiot. I don't expect you to remember anything," she snapped.

"You were so stiff in front of the camera, you giantess! There is no way this picture turned out like this without some modification!"

"I didn't know you knew such a big word like modification because you're always an idiot! An insensitive one!"

The rest of the group watched the couple bicker nonstop about it.

"I don't understand why he won't admit that Risa-chan looks cute here," Chiharu softly remarked.

"Because she isn't!" Otani shouted.

"You said I am!" Risa said in shock. It pained her to hear her boyfriend dismiss the fact of her being cute. Thoughts of her being unattractive pooled together in her mind.

"How dare you say that Risa's not cute?" another voice shouted. A boy with light brown hair pushed Otani with enough effort to make him tumble down the floor.

"Haruka-senpai! Don't!" a high-pitched voice wailed.

"I don't care, Seiko! He doesn't think Risa looks cute! Break up with him! Break up with him, Risa! He doesn't deserve you!" Haruka shouted.

"But she does look cute!" Seiko said, twirling her blonde hair. She bubbly raised the magazine with the photo of Risa taken in the photoshoot. "See?"

"She looks like an angel!" Haruka exclaimed.

"At least someone thinks that," Risa snapped, glaring at Otani. "Of all the people, my boyfriend had to be the one who comments negatively!"

Koizumi ran outside the classroom angrily. Otani felt a number of angry eyes on him as he stood up.

"Why are you so cruel?" Nobuko shouted.

"Me? Cruel? It's the truth!" he snapped back. Nobuko managed to punch him on the face just like Risa does.

"Nakao! Tell your girlfriend to control herself!" Otani yelped.

"Gomen nasai. I think she's doing good to put some sense to you," Nakao replied.

"Are you trying to break up with her, Otani-kun?" Chiharu asked. "Saying those things in your girlfriend's face is a stupid act."

"But Otani-kun does do stupid things," Suzuki added. Otani felt his blood boil as Haruka started telling everyone how Otani was undeserving of love.

"You didn't let me finish!" he finally shouted.

"Finish? It's a little too late for that!" Nobuko snapped.

"I think it's an insult to Koizumi if you call her cute," he said.

"Otani-senpai! You should be ashamed of yourself, saying things like that!" Seiko cried.

"She's not cute! She's beautiful! Alright? Kawaii's an understatement for her. Koizumi's beauty is much more than that…" his voice trailed off as the tomato red color of his blush crept on his face. "There are no words to describe how stunning she looks… how stunning she is…"

"That's so sweet," Nobuko said, sighing dreamily. "Tell that to her."

"I'd rather not," Otani said, his face turning redder in each second that passed. "It's embarrassing."

"Why is it embarrassing? You're expressing how you feel about her!" Seiko said happily.

"It's just like that, okay? It's easier to think those than tell her!"

"But what if I heard it all?"

Otani swore the temperature of his cheeks was going to kill him. He stood in the classroom, stiff and flustered as Risa went in and sat in front of him.

"O... Ootani... so kawaii's an understatement for me?" she asked, with hope in her voice.

"Just shut up and don't get your hopes up," Otani replied. He walked to his seat beside her and rested his head on the table without speaking to them. Koizumi felt her heart flutter. Otani had the tendency to be shy whenever he said something sweet towards her or about her. At least he took back what he said and transformed it into something wonderful.

"Hey! There's going to be another photoshoot next week! We should definitely go there," Chiharu remarked.

"Oh! Oh! We should go! Risa, we might be the cover of next month's issue! You, me, and Chiharu!" Nobuko exclaimed with glee.

"And Seiko!" the 'self-proclaimed female' blonde boy added.

"Oh! I get it!" Nakao exclaimed. "So in Otani's mind, Koizumi-san is so beautiful, that if you call her cute, it's like you're saying she's ugly?"

"Hai! That's right, darling!" Nobuko said.

"SHUT UP, NAKAO!" Otani shouted.

Risa smiled. Maybe attending another photoshoot doesn't sound like a bad idea now.

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><p><strong>AN:**_ So I had to use some Japanese words for this. To make it a bit more in-character and stuff. Well, thanks for reading this! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please R&R, no flames hopefully. :)_


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